Arctic Flames
by SasukeUchiha2117
Summary: Sasuke is (once again) a prince, and Gray who lives in another world apart from Sasuke's is an Ice mage. The two guys have some things to deal with in their own lives, but when a portal interferes with everything; some things get hot, but others go cold creating opposite flames. SasuGray is the main pairing, but other pairings are SasuSaku (not much), and slight SasuLyon.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Fairy Tail or Naruto. I only own the Fanfic. Some of the characters may be different than they actually are, and may have some of the traits from my previous fan fictions, but don't bother me with that stuff!

Enter Gray

He was just entering the building when he heard a familiar voice; a voice he hated to hear.

"_What's he goin' on about now?"_ he thought to himself as he looked in the direction of the voice that he hated to hear the most.

He heard that voice call out to him:

"Hey! Gray!"

His attention snapped to the guy who had called him:

"What do ya want?"

"Aw come now Gray don't be so grumpy." The other guy said as he put and arm around Gray; only to be instantly pushed away:

"My, my. Aren't we cross this morning?"

"Oh piss off Lyon." Gray said with a glare to the white haired guy on the other side of the room

"What's got ya all upset this morning? You're never like this?" A girl said as she approached Gray.

"It's none of your business."

"Oh?"

"Just you and your little guild leave me alone!" Gray said as he walked toward his group of friends.

One of his friends turns his head to see Gray, but he doesn't look too happy:

"Hey Gray. What's got you so angry this morning?"

"Yeah Gray; you're usually just tired in the morning." A blond headed girl added.

"It's not really that important Lucy, Natsu."

"Well anyway I had a question for ya."

"What?"

"I mean outside."

"Oh right. Of course." Gray said as he and Natsu walked out; passing a blushing girl with blue hair who called out to him last minute:

"Gray-Sama!"

Gray turned to see the girl running toward him; catching the attention of Lyon; making him jealous of Gray:

"Juvia. What is it?"

"I noticed that ya looked a little 'off' this morning and I was wondering if there was anything that I could do to help ya feel better in anyway." Juvia said; her hands behind her back and her arms looking like they were intertwined with each other.

"It's nothing, but thanks for the offer Juvia."

"Of course."

Gray and Natsu walked outside; it was bright so both of them were then squinting so they could still see; when Gray made a suggestion:

"Why don't we go in the shade so that we don't burn our eyes out?"

"Right."

They walked into a shaded spot so that they could talk, but as they did Gray spotted something out of the ordinary - a portal as it seemed.

"_What the hell?"_ He thought as Natsu started to talk while Gray wasn't even listening. Gray saw people walking by; not even taking a glance at the portal; until he saw on boy; the age of fifteen by the looks of it; noticed the portal and examined it.

"_Huh? Who's he? Where does that thing lead to?"_ Gray thought before snapping himself back into reality to hear Natsu's last sentence:

"What should I do about talking to Lucy about this sort of thing?"

"Uh...you should just be your silly ol' self like you normally are and tell her what's goin' on in your head, but try not to confuse her; that is a major key in situations like this one."

"Alright yeah. I get what you're sayin' now. Thanks Gray." Natsu said before running back inside; leaving Gray to wonder what the other side of that portal was like.

"_Oh just forget it Gray! You're losin' it! It's just an illusion."_ Gray thought to himself; shaking his head to try to snap himself out of his gaze.

Juvia looked outside and saw Gray, and ran outside:

"Gray-Sama!"

Gray turned to see Juvia running at him. He opened his arms; allowing the blue haired girl to run into them:

"What's up Juvia?"

"It's Lyon again! Tell 'em to leave me alone! Please."

"Okay, okay. Just gimmie a sec." Gray said getting an ice spell ready. He walked inside and saw no one in the room except for Lyon.

Lyon watched as Gray walked into the room with Juvia following behind him; trying to stay out of the way:

"Oh how gentlemanly of you Gray."

Gray glared at his white haired opponent's remark:

"Heh. Something you're obviously not capable of doin' Lyon."

Lyon looked past Gray and Juvia to see a portal; a raven-haired-teenage-boy was inspecting it; trying to figure out where it lead to, but ended up just shrugging and walking away:

"_Hm. Interesting young adolescent is he? Curious much?"_ Lyon thought before snapping back to reality with the sound of Gray's voice; him yelling slightly.

"Well?! Are ya gonna do somethin' other than just stand there or am I just waistin' my time here with ya?" Gray questioned.

Juvia put a hand on Gray's shoulder; making him turn his attention on her:

"Juvia?"

Juvia just shook her head:

"You're just wasting your time Gray-sama. It's not worth the time he's taking to make the first move. Let's go."

Gray nodded:

"Right. I have better thing to do than wait here all day for this loser to make a move." Gray said taking Juvia by the hand; making her blush, and they walked back outside to practice their magic.

After a good forty-five minutes of practice Juvia became tired:

"I'm gonna go home and go to bed. I'll see ya tomorrow Gray-sama." She said with a tired smile.

Gray smiled back:

"Okay. Night Juvia." He said as he kissed her temple.

Gray went home as well and was going to bed when his phone rang. He looked at his phone to see who was calling him at 10:00 pm:

"Ugh! Natsu what do ya want." He said as he accepted the call:

"Hello?"

"Hey Gray."

"Natsu...what do ya want?"

"I wanted to say thanks for the advice ya gave me earlier and I was hoping to get a little practice in tomorrow."

"When?"

"Around 11:45 am. How does that sound?"

"That sounds good, but I might be a little late. You know how it is."

"Oh yeah I know. Ya don't have to tell ME twice, trust me Gray."

Gray smiled and then sighed:

"Well I need to sleep. Meet me tomorrow in the back of the guild. Okay?"

"Right. Got it. Night Gray."

"Night." Gray said before he hung up to go to sleep. He just couldn't stop thinking about what he saw beyond the portal:

"_That guy. Who was he? What was that place? Why was there a portal leading to that world? There are too many questions to be answered about that thing. They go on forever...probably never goin' to be answered too."_ Gray thought before drifting off to sleep.

Lyon on the other hand couldn't sleep at all because of the portal; it was stuck in his mind and was never going to come out unless his questions where answered:

"_Who was that guy? What world was that? Why is there a portal that leads to that world in the first place? I wonder what that guy's name was. Well whatever it is; for some odd and random reason; there's just something about him that makes me want to know more about him and something else that goes along with this curiosity of mine; almost like a one of those weird feelings that's in one of those fairytale movies or TV shows. He seems very extraordinary even though I've never even talk to him before. It's a very weird feeling, but I just can't figure out what it is at the moment."_ Lyon thought before _he_ drifted off to sleep as well.

The next morning came; bringing a pleasant awakening for Gray, but not for Lyon.

Gray woke up; fully rested and ready to do some practice with his ice magic. He got out of bed and got dressed and ate something for breakfast. He then took a shower and glanced at the clock after he got out of the bathroom from his hot shower:

"_Huh. Only 10:55 am. Not bad."_ He thought before going to the guilt to meet Natsu behind the building.

Lyon woke up shortly after Gray left for the guild, but his awakening wasn't as pleasant as Gray's; it wasn't even close to how pleasant Gray's was, but he got up anyway. He got dressed and ate something. He then left for the guild as well.

Enter Sasuke

The gennin was training with his sensei and his friend; training to control chakra movement, and how to conceal it from the enemy; in which both the boys were able to do; mostly because they were working together. They were able to beat their sensei in a small sparring match with concealing chakra and controlling it as well.

"Well you two I have to say are getting along much better now. Good job. That's it for today; it's getting a little late to still be training."

"You got it Kakashi-sensei!" The gennin with spiky blonde hair replied.

The other boy simply smirked:

"I think what he means Naruto is that we were able t work together better and we should keep up the good work, but yeah it is getting' a little late isn't it?"

"You said it Sasuke." Naruto said with a goofy smile on his face; teeth showing and all.

"Precisely. Good analogy Sasuke." Kakashi said.

"Thanks."

"You two should think about heading home; it's getting dark." The jounin said.

"Right." The boys replied nodding.

"Sasuke! Naruto!"

The two gennin's attention turned to a pink haired girl runnin toward the three guys.

"Hey Sakura! What's up?"

"Oh not much. Hey Sasuke?"

Sasuke lifted an eye brow and tilted his head slightly:

"Huh? What is it Sakura?"

"Can I talk to you alone please?"

The gennin looked around:

"Yeah sure...I guess." He said with a shrug.

Sakura smile and led him toward the gate to the training ground:

"Okay. So I was wondering..."

"Yes?"

"Would you possibly consider going out with me? I promise to make you happy in any way you want me to." She asked blushing.

Sasuke's face turned a little red, but not red enough to see:

"Uh...I...I don't know..."

Sakura looked puzzled:

"What's wrong Sasuke?"

"I-it's just that I-I'm not really ready for stuff like that. I-I mean really if I thought I was then I really would sure, but maybe later in time. Sorry Sakura."

Sakura's face turned an even deeper red at the sound of his say he would if he thought he was ready for something like that. She hugged him:

"Okay. I understand Sasuke. I can wait too. We can wait together." She said pulling away to look into his onyx orbs.

Sasuke smirked:

"Okay then." He said as he turned to walk back over to Naruto and Kakashi; only to be stopped by Sakura grabbing his arm, and his attention went to her again:

"What is it?"

"Do you think I could hang around with you and Naruto? It's kinda too dark to walk back by myself ya know."

"Yeah sure. Just don't get too scared when we walk home. Alright?"

"Alright." Sakura replied

Sasuke and Sakura walked back over to Kakashi and Naruto.

Kakashi nodded toward Sasuke:

"You're walking Sakura home? This is new."

"Oh shut up!" Sasuke said as he gave a slight glare to his sensei.

Kakashi laughed:

"Okay, okay. I'm gonna head home so I'll see you three later." He said before disappearing in a puff of white smoke.

Naruto looked over at Sakura and Sasuke and smiled:

"So are we goin' home now? It's startin' to get real dark out."

"Yeah come on." Sasuke said as he turned to walk away.

"Hey Sasuke?"

"Huh?"

"You wouldn't mind walking me home would you since Kakashi-sensei gave me the idea?"

"No. I guess not."

Sakura smiled and held onto Sasuke's arm, but not too tight like he hates:

"Thanks Sasuke."

A warm smile crept onto the raven haired gennin:

"No problem."

As they walked home Sasuke kept feeling like he was being followed and watched; making him finally stop.

Naruto turned to see Sasuke looking around and then in one final direction:

"What is it Sasuke?"

"Yeah what's wrong?"

"I feel like we're bein' followed and watched, but I can't exactly tell what or who it is."

Naruto got on his guard; along with Sasuke and Sakura:

"Let's be careful then."

Sasuke nodded; not even having to utter a word, and Naruto knew he understood.

"Alright." Sakura whispered.

There was a rustle of the brush behind Sasuke; making Naruto's attention turn to that spot:

"Sasuke! Look out!"

Sasuke looked to where Naruto was looking and immediately saw a sound ninja jump out from the brush; in attempt to kill him.

Sakura ran to Naruto's side so she wasn't in Sasuke's way:

"Be careful Sasuke."

"I know."

The sound ninja was fended off by Sasuke with ease. They found themselves in a standoff in the clearing of the Leaf Village Highway. Finally Sasuke decided to break the silence between them:

"Who are you and why are you here?"

"I'm here for the Uchiha Prince. I need to know..."

Sasuke gulped.

"I need to know what your name is young man."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, but I'm no prince, and I know that for a fact."

"There are no other Uchiha. You're the boy I'm looking for, and there's no mistaking it."

"How can you be so sure?"

The sound ninja held up a picture of the 'Uchiha Prince' that he was looking for:

"Is this you or not?"

"Yeah that's me, but I don't understand."

"The Uchiha Prince was said to be the Ten Tails Jinchuuriki as well as having royal and Uchiha blood traits."

"What do you mean by 'royal' blood traits?"

"That's not of any importance now. You must come with me now. No further questions unless you're coming with me."

"Well then I guess I don't need any more information. You'll just die where you now stand." Sasuke stated confidently.

"You'll regret saying those as your last words for a while." The sound ninja said before running at Sasuke.

Sasuke easily fought the sound ninja; out beating him in everything he had to fight with from ninjutsu to teijutsu and everything else in between.

After about one minute of a fight the sound ninja was defeated by Sasuke; he lies dead on the ground at the gennin's feet.

Sakura looked at Sasuke with concern in her eyes as she ran over to him and hugged him:

"Are ya okay?"

Sasuke groaned a little; making Sakura let go:

"Sorry. I didn't think that you'd be hurt. Do ya want to me to treat them when we get to my house?"

Sasuke shook his head:

"No. I'm fine; they're just bruises; nothing else."

"At least le'me look at them later then."

"Alright fine."

The three walked home. Naruto had to go a slightly different way then Sakura and Sasuke so he said his good byes and walked the rest of the way home. Sasuke and Sakura got to Sakura's house. She let him in and sat him down on the couch to look at his 'bruises' from the fight.

"Ow."

"See I told ya they were worse than ya thought they were Sasuke. Please let me patch them up. I'm worried about you."

"Okay, okay. You can patch 'em up, but please try not to take too long."

"I know." She said before waking over to a cabinet and taking out a first aid kit. She sat back down next to Sasuke and treated his wounds from the fight.

After Sakura finished she looked up to see Sasuke asleep.

"_I can't just let him fall asleep here. He would get mad at me later."_ She thought to herself before shacking Sasuke awake:

"Sasuke. Sasuke wake up."

"Huh? What? Oh hey Sakura."

"You should go home and get some rest; ya look very exhausted from that fight, and plus you were training a lot today. Go home and sleep Sasuke. Naruto and I will come and see ya tomorrow 'kay?"

"'Kay." Sasuke said standing up.

Sasuke disappeared and reappeared in his room when something accrued to him:

"_I might be goin' crazy, but I thought I saw a portal-like thing while walking home, but I really think I'm imagining things."_ He thought as he shook his head.

"_Just forget about it. It wasn't really anything important anyways."_ He reminded himself. He got dressed and went to sleep, but didn't fall asleep until at least thirty to forty-five minutes after he got into bed. He eventually fell asleep, and only one he woke up because of the portal, but after that he stayed asleep.

The next morning Sasuke woke up to hear Sakura and Naruto knocking on his door. He got out of bed and got dressed. He brushed his messy raven locks and opened the door to see his team mates.

Sakura smiled:

"Hey Sasuke. Sorry if we woke ya." She smiled sympathetically.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed:

"Yeah. Sorry Sasuke."

Sasuke still had a tired look on his face, but a small smirk crept onto his face:

"It's okay. I needed to wake up anyways."

"Ya don't look like ya needed to wake up." Sakura said raising an eye brow.

"I'm fine Sakura."

The pink haired girl studied the wounds she had patched up the night before and saw that the patches had fallen off in his sleep, but there were no wounds in the place of the patches. She became confused:

"Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Where did those wounds go? Ya know...the ones I patched up last night."

"Huh? Oh those?" He asked as he placed a hand on a spot where a wound was.

"Yeah those." She replied nodding.

"I dunno. I woke up and saw that they were gone, but I felt so much better. It was weird."

Kakashi appeared:

"Hey guys. What's up?"

"The wounds Sasuke got last night are gone now; like they were never there to begin with."

"Hm. Le'me take a look." He said walking over to Sasuke; past Sakura and Naruto.

The jounin pulled the collar of Sasuke's shirt down and saw no signs of any wounds ever being on his neck and assumed that they were gone everywhere else too. He then spotted a crown birthmark of the side of his neck:

"This is strange..."

Sasuke looked back toward his sensei:

"What is it?"

"There's a strange mark on this side of your neck."

"Huh? A mark?"

"Yeah. It looks like a gold crown."

"A crown?" Sakura asked.

"Look."

Sakura walked over and saw the gold crown on Sasuke's neck and gasped:

"Whoa. It is a crown!" Naruto said looking at the mark as well.

"Was that always there?" Sakura asked.

"How should I know? Only Sasuke's parents or his brother would know, but are they here?"

"No." Sakura answered.

"Exactly." Kakashi said as he let Sasuke's shirt collar go.

Sasuke felt around on his neck to try to find the crown mark.

"_How could I not have known about this?"_


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura looked at Sasuke full of worry:

"Sasuke? Are ya okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just fine; just confused."

"Oh okay."

"I'm going for a walk. There're some things that I need to clear up in my head."

"Do ya want someone to come with ya?" Naruto asked; feeling very concerned for his friend.

"Not really, but if ya feel its necessary then fine."

"Well then I'm comin' with ya."

"I think I'll go to." Kakashi said.

"Maybe we should all go then." Sakura said turning to Naruto and Kakashi.

The two nodded their heads and went with Sasuke so that they could at least try to help Sasuke clear his mind of whatever is troubling him.

Re-enter Gray

Gray waited for Natsu to show up at the back end of the guild:

"_Where is he? It's almost noon!"_

As Gray looked at the sky he heard a door open and shut; making his attention go to the door and saw Lyon instead of Natsu.

"What're YOU doin' here Lyon?"

"I should ask the same thing of you Gray."

"I'm waiting for Natsu to show up."

"He won't be coming."

"What?!"

"He's 'out' if you catch my drift."

"You knocked 'em out?!"

"Yes. Is there a problem Gray?"

"YES there's a problem! I was supposed to practice magic with him today! I waited here since 11 am!"

"What a shame. Poor, poor Gray; had to wait for an unfaithful friend to show up so he could practice magic with him. That's such a sad story ya have there Gray." Lyon said sympathetically.

"_What is he saying? Natsu's a faithful friend. He's lying!"_ Gray thought as he studied Lyon for a moment.

"What's the matter Gray? Are you upset because Natsu made you wait here for him?"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Gray yelled gripping his hair as if he were going to pull it out.

Lyon laughed under his breath at how Gray was acting:

"I really pity you Gray."

Gray looked up at Lyon with slight rage in his eyes:

"Why? Why do YOU of all people pity ME?"

"Most of your friends just want to get rid of you. They want you to just disappear, and be gone from their lives."

"That's not true!"

"Oh, but it is."

"It's NOT! Quit talkin' nonsense Lyon!"

"None of what I'm saying is nonsense Gray. Truly."

"You're LYING!" Gray yelled before encasing Lyon in a glacier of ice.

Lyon broke free and walked toward Gray with an ice spell ready to be cast upon him.

Gray was getting to be in a state of insecurity and panic:

"G-get away from m-me L-Lyon!" He said backing up; not knowing that the portal he had seen yesterday was still in its place; making him trip and fall backwards into the other world beyond the portal.

Lyon had seen the portal as well, but never had the courage to go through alone:

"_Now's my chance!"_ He thought before he jumped through the portal as well.

Gray had hit his head on something pretty hard and was unconscious when Lyon had appeared outside of the portal.

Lyon looked around and saw people walking by like nothing's wrong, but they were looking at his cloths oddly because no one dressed like that in that world. He then went to walk forward; only to be stopped when his foot nudged Gray's unconscious body; making him jump back startled:

"_Huh? Oh it's only Gray. Wait...why isn't he waking up? Did he hit his head on something?"_ He wondered as he looked at Gray, and then noticed that Gray had indeed hit his head on something - a wall, and there was a pretty big crack where Gray had hit his head.

Re-enter Sasuke (and keep Gray)

Sasuke was walking home with team members following when he stopped to see two strange men; one looked to be unconscious, and the other man was standing by him as if to protect him in a way. He got a little curious as to who they were and walked over to them:

"Excuse me?"

The man standing turned his attention to Sasuke:

"_Who's he? Wait I saw him once! He was looking at the portal when I saw him!"_ Lyon thought before answering:

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"Well I saw you over here and didn't recognize you...so I wanted to ask..."

"Ask away."

"I wanted to know who you were."

"Oh. My name is Lyon Bastia. I'm from another world so to say."

"Okay, but who's he?" Sasuke asked nodding toward the unconscious man at Lyon's feet.

"Oh his name is Gray Fullbuster. He's from the same world that I'm from."

"Okay. Is he alright though? He really doesn't look okay to me."

"He's just unconscious. He should be coming to in a moment. By the way..."

"Yes?"

"You know my name, but I don't know yours."

"Oh sorry. My name's Sasuke Uchiha, and these are my team members; Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Kakashi Hatake."

"I see. It's nice to meet all of you then."

"Like wise."

Everyone stopped talking when they heard a groan come from the man at Lyon's feet; also known as Gray Fullbuster:

"Aw my head. What happened? W-where am I?"

"Why don't you open your eyes and find out Gray."

Gray's eyes snapped open when he heard Lyon, and she stood up almost instantly:

"L-Lyon!"

"It took ya a while."

"Huh? Wait first off where are we, and who are these people?"

"Oh right. Sasuke this is Gray Fullbuster; Gray this is Sasuke Uchiha. As for where we are I really can't tell you because I don't know."

"This is Konoha; also known as the Hidden Leaf Village." Sasuke said to answer Gray's question.

"Thanks...uh...Sasuke was it?"

"Yup, and you're welcome."

"But yeah as Lyon said my name is Gray Fullbuster, but uh who are your friends here."

"Oh; these are my team members; Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Kakashi Hatake."

"Nice to meet ya."

A smirk crawled onto Sasuke's face:

"Like wise."

Kakashi nodded, Sakura bowed, and Naruto waved with a goofy smile on his face as Sasuke introduced them to Gray and Lyon.

Lyon's attention was always on Sasuke even when he was introduced to his team members.

Gray looked over at Lyon and he could've sworn that he saw hearts appear in his eyes while he was looking at Sasuke, but then again; he couldn't keep his eyes off himself, but he was more vigilant than Lyon was.

Soon enough Sakura caught eye of Lyon staring at Sasuke in a way that she didn't like much at all.

"_Who does he think he is - looking at MY Sasuke like that?!"_ Sakura thought with secret rage in her eyes.

"_Man...why does Lyon have to be so...so...Lyon?! He always finds SOMEONE to just stare at and it seems like he'd be staring at 'em forever!"_ Gray thought.

"_Why can't I stop looking at him? Every time I try to look away his looks just keep pulling me back to looking at him, and those onyx eyes - just a sight to see."_ Lyon thought as he continued to stare at Sasuke.

"_He's lookin' at Sasuke a weird way. Maybe I should change the subject so that Sasuke's on guard and fightin'. It's a tough choice to make. Do I change the subject and ask Sasuke if he wants to show these two how we ninjas fight around here or do I just let this weirdo...uh...Lyon was it? Yeah it was Lyon. Or should I let Lyon keep staring at him when it's VERY noticeable? Ugh what to do?"_ Naruto thought; finally making up his mind:

"Hey Sasuke!"

"What?"

"Why don't we show Gray and Lyon how we ninjas fight in this world?"

"That's not a bad idea actually. How 'bout it guys?" Sasuke said turning to Gray and Lyon.

Gray returned to reality after spacing out:

"Huh? Oh yeah. Sure. Sounds great." Gray said shaking his head trying to unblurr his vision.

"I wouldn't mind seeing a sparring match." Lyon said giving Gray a quick glance.

Gray blew air out if his puffed up cheeks and blew some hair out of his face.

"_Of coarse ya wouldn't mind to see a sparring match. You just wanna watch Sasuke beat Naruto senseless, and the say how great the fight was just to kiss up."_ Gray thought as the hair he blew out of his face fell back onto one side of his nose and rolled his eyes.

"Something wrong, Gray?" Lyon asked raising an eye brow.

"Nope nothin's wrong. I'm fine." Gray replied looking strait ahead instead of at Lyon.

"Let's go." Sasuke said nodding toward the training field.

"Yeah Let's do this!" Naruto said full enthusiasm.

They walked down to the training field; Sasuke and Naruto going to each side of the field:

"Alright. Let's do this. Ready Naruto?"

"I was BORN ready Sasuke, believe it!"

"Hehe okay gimmie all ya got!"

"You got it!" Naruto said before the two became enlocked in a friendly battle/competition.

The others watched as Sasuke threw shuriken, kunai, and other weapons. Naruto was doing the same; until Sasuke started using jutsu and strong ones at that.

The fight ended within minutes after it began. Sasuke had one the match between the two:

"Hm. Not. Bad." Sasuke said taking a few pauses to catch his breath.

"Hehe. I. Told ya. I was. Born. Ready." Naruto replied taking a few pauses to catch his breath as well.

The two boys looked over at Lyon and Gray to see Lyon clapping:

"A great show it was. Both of you. Great job."

"Thanks." Sasuke and Naruto said in unison.

"_I was SO right."_ Gray thought; a smile still on his face from watching the two gennin engage in friendly combat.

"Yeah you two were awesome. I'd love to watch you two fight like that more often."

Sasuke felt a slight blush appear on his face:

"Thanks."

Naruto smiled:

"Thanks Gray. Oh hey you and Lyon should show us how YOU fought in your world. That should be something interesting to watch."

Lyon smiled:

"Sounds like fun. How 'bout it Gray? Shall we show them how mages in our world fought?" He said looking over at his shirtless friend.

"I don't see why not." Gray said with a shrug.

"Alright!" Naruto cheered.

Gray let out a small chuckle, and walked to the side that Sasuke stood on. Lyon had walked over to the side that Naruto stood on (by default) and got ready to fight.

Naruto leaned toward Sasuke:

"Who do ya think is gonna win; Lyon or Gray?" He whispered.

"Definitely Gray." Sasuke said with confidence.

The battle went on for at least fifteen minutes; Gray was winning at this point.

"_How could I be losing to HIM, and in front of Sasuke?!"_ Lyon thought as he prepped an ice spell:

"_This should knock 'em out in a snap."_

Gray had seen the sly smirk on Lyon's face and prepped an ice spell as well:

"_Okay. Last chance to really show my stuff."_ He thought as an icy-like aura emanated from his hands.

"Ice cannon!"

Lyon heard Gray and saw an ice cannon forming at his palms; he began to lose control of his magic; making it go off course. The ice Lyon had cast that was meant to go for Gray ended up going toward Sasuke; making Gray instinctively lunge himself in the ice's path of 'pain'.

Sasuke saw everything flash in front of him, and lastly saw Gray jump in front of him and knock him to the ground and out of the way of Lyon's misfired ice spell.

Gray took a hit to the stomach and fell to the ground; creating a loud thud as he hit the ground hard.

Sasuke got to his feet after hearing a thud and looked over to see Gray lying on the ground; a wound patched with ice:

"Gray!" He yelled as he ran over; concern filled into his eyes along with worry.

One of Gray's eyes opened to see Sasuke looming over him; his eyes gleaming with fear, worry, and concern:

"Hey."

"Are you alright?"

""Yeah. I take those kinda hits all the time." Gray said as he sat up (with Sasuke's help).

"You don't look okay."

"Sasuke, I'm fine." Gray said trying to reassure his friend.

Sasuke wasn't about to believe Gray; he didn't look 'fine' to him at all.

Lyon ran over:

"Sasuke! Gray! I'm so sorry."

"It's cool Lyon. Besides; it's just like old time right?" Gary said; finally standing up.

"It was just a misfired, but a piece of advice: don't let anything distract you; even if it's a spell that's very powerful."

"Right. Thank you." Lyon said nodding.

"_How could something like that happen? If Gray wasn't there Sasuke would've been gravely injured; that would be a powerful spell to take a hit from for someone like him - a ninja. He isn't an ice mage like Gray."_ Lyon thought as he looked from Gray to Sasuke and back to Gray.

Sasuke stood and looked up at Gray:

"Thanks Gray. You saved me."

"_There's something about him that makes me do what I really do for anyone else."_ Gray thought as he looked into Sasuke onyx orbs.

"Hey uh Gray?"

"Yup?"

"C-could I talk to you f-for a sec? Please?"

"Yeah sure Sasuke."

The two boys walked over toward the entrance to the training field:

"Okay I need to ask you something."

"Go for it."

"I know this may sound ridiculous, but..."

"What?"

"Why did you protect me?"

"That's not ridiculous."

"It's not?"

"No. If fact I'm glad you asked that."

"Why?"

"'Cause I was gonna tell ya myself at some point anyways."

"Then why?"

"Well ya know that moment ya have when ya don't think and ya just go with whatever your heart tells ya to do?"

"Yeah why?"

"That's one of those moments I had; I didn't think about what I was doing; I just acted, and I listened to what my heart said to do, and that was to protect ya from Lyon's misfiring of that ice spell; which by the way would've gravely injured someone even like you."

"You mean you-" Sasuke said before he stopped.

"What? What were ya gonna say? Sasuke?" Gray said trying to get Sasuke to snap out of anything he was under/in. He could see the fear in his eyes, and couldn't imagine how he must feel right about now with almost getting hit with Lyon's ice spell.

Everyone else wasn't paying attention except for Lyon who was watching intensively.

Sasuke finally snapped out of whatever he was under/in to heard Gray's voice; all of the fear returning to his thoughts; he became very shaky and his eyes shown every bit of fear, worry, and loneliness.

Gray pulled Sasuke into a warm embrace; making the blush that scattered across Sasuke's cheeks lightly intensify and brighten slightly, but Gray didn't pay any attention to that; Sasuke didn't seem to care that it was there and simply ignored it.

Lyon was still watching, and seeing Gray hug Sasuke like he did made him exceedingly jealous, and somewhat shocked by Sasuke's reaction (which Sasuke actually like and _needed_ that hug).

"_Ugh! Stupid Gray! How come HE gets to hug Sasuke and I don't? That's no fair!"_ He thought as he continued to watch Gray and Sasuke.

Gray pulled away, and noticed Sasuke's red face:

"Hey. What's wrong?"

"What do ya mean?"

"Why is your face so red? It kinda reminds me of a rose, but do ya have a fever?" Gray said feeling Sasuke's forehead:

"Man your head's hot. Hm...oh! Try takin' your shirt off; maybe that'll help with the fact that your face is so hot." Gray said nodding to Sasuke's shirt.

"My shirt?"

"Yeah. That's probably the reason for your face bin' so hot. Give it a try."

"Okay." Sasuke said; feeling unsure about what Gray had just told him to do. He pulled his shirt off and made it disappear from his hands; his face turning a little less red, but making Lyon and Gray's faces turn a little red from seeing how built Sasuke was for a fifteen year old boy.

"_Whoa. Where did THAT come from?"_ Gray thought as he caught a glimpse of Sasuke's abs.

Lyon on the other hand felt like he was going to have a nose bleed:

"_Oh. My. God. I wish I could've seen THOSE sooner!"_ Lyon thought as a couple dirty images ran through his mind.

"_Oh no. No, no, no. None of that."_ Lyon said as he violently shaking his head in attempt to make the images disappear.

Sasuke looked over at Lyon who was still trying to get the images out of his head:

"Are you okay Lyon?"

Lyon stopped; finally getting the images out of his head:

"Huh? Oh yeah. I'm fine."

"_Getting' a little imaginative aren't we Lyon?"_ Gray thought as he rolled his eyes; a smile had been placed on his lips.

Sasuke just smirked:

"Hm. Okay then." He said shrugging.

Sakura walked over to Sasuke and latched onto his arm and giggled:

"That was a very good fight Sasuke."

She looked over at Gray and smiled:

"That was a very close call and nice save by the way Gray."

Gray grinned and scratched the back of his neck; a blush creeping onto his face:

"Hehe thanks Sakura."

"No problem."

Lyon felt jealous and didn't exactly know why, but he felt a small pain in his stomach that mad him think:

"_Why do I feel jealous about this? Why do I feel jealous about Sakura talking to Gray, hugging Sasuke's arm and she's giggling about it? Why?"_

Sasuke looked over a Lyon with a puzzled face:

"What's up with you?"

Lyon looked over at the puzzled gennin:

"Huh? Oh it's nothing." He said with a sheepish smile.

"Okay." Sasuke said before looking down at Sakura:

"Can you please let go now?"

Sakura looked up at Sasuke:

"Oh right sorry Sasuke."

Sasuke just smirked and punched Gray's arm:

"How 'bout you crash at my place?"

Gray's head turned to Sasuke and he smiled; the blush that was already there had gotten just a little darker:

"O-okay." He said; sort of sounding like he was laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing I was just thinking of something that a friend of mine did before I got here."

"Alright then. We should go."  
"Huh? Why?"

"It's getting' dark and I really don't wanna meet up with an enemy ninja or something else." Sasuke said with a slightly worried/paranoid look in his eyes.

Gray nodded:

"Right."

Sakura looked over at Lyon:

"Did you wanna stay at my house?"

"Sure. Thank you."

"No problem." She said with a sweet smile.

Lyon smiled back and walked along side the pink-haired girl while watching Gray walk next to Sasuke, and had begun to feel jealous of the other ice mage.

Gray and Sasuke arrived at the Uchiha complex. A slight shiver ran down Sasuke's spine; still remembering the tragic incident that was caused by his older brother - Itachi Uchiha.

Gray looked over at Sasuke to see a slight shakiness about him, and instinctively wrapped his arm around the gennin's shoulders and rubbing them to help him get warm:

"_Man...does it get cold at night here or what?"_ he thought with a sigh and looked at Sasuke with concern in his eyes:

"You okay?"

Sasuke slightly shivered again:

"Y-yeah I'm just a little cold that's all."

"Well we should go inside then shouldn't we?"

"S-sure."

Gray walked Sasuke inside and to his room after Sasuke told him where it was (and they had taken off their shoes obviously).

"_Sasuke wasn't cold before we got here. I wonder why he all the sudden so cold now."_ Gray thought as he sat down with Sasuke on his bed. He grabbed a blanket and wrapped Sasuke up; making a sheepish smile made its way onto his face:

"Thanks."

"Yup." Gray said with a warm smile; finally figuring out what Lyon saw in Sasuke:

"_I finally understand now. Lyon saw that Sasuke had a kind heart, and not only the looks to kill, but he could be able to protect someone if he really had to or even WANTED to for that matter. He seems so innocent too, and for some reason I find that so cute, and it's just him too."_ Gray thought as he held Sasuke against his side with one arm around his shoulders.

Sasuke looked out the window and felt a chilling breeze go travel his spine; making him shiver against Gray's bare torso; the chill reminded him of the Uchiha macaque, and had seen his brothers face when he saw the full moon in the center view of his window.

Gray looked down at the raven-haired boy to see him almost burying his face into his side and the blanket:

"Hey I have a question for ya."

Sasuke looked up at his friend to see Gray's blue eyes meet the onyx orb of his own:

"What?"

"Why are ya all the sudden so cold when ya were fine before we got here?"

"I honestly don't know, and if I did know I'd tell ya."

"Alright well don't ditch that blanket then."

"I know." Sasuke said as he snuggled into Gray.

The blush that Gray thought had disappeared returned when he felt Sasuke's coldish face press up against his side; making him remember how Juvia would do that during the meteor shower, and how Lucy did that when they were on a mission and it had gotten cold; he smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

Gray sighed and looked out the window; only to feel that same chilling breeze that Sasuke had felt, but for a different reason - he had seen his old mentor's face in the sky formed by multiple colors of stars; making him feel guilty for what had happened to her years back when he was still learning to perform ice magic.

Sasuke saw the guilt in Gray's eyes and lifted his head; making Gray's attention turn to him:

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just thinkin' 'bout my mentor."

"What about your mentor?"

"How and why she died."

"How did she die?"

"She died saving me and Lyon from a huge creature named Deliora."

"Who was Deliora?"

"Deliora was an evil creature that destroyed my town; killing everyone, but me."

"How did your mentor die besides saving you and Lyon?"

"She used a spell that turns the user's whole body into a shield of ice around a target. The move is called Ice Shell. She used it to defeat if and imprison it in a huge glassier of ice; which in turn killed her to create the ice."

"That's a powerful move."

"Yeah, but the thing was I didn't want her to die because I wasn't ready to be left alone ever again, but Lyon blamed the whole incident on ME, and he said that it was my fault that she died, and that if I didn't go to try to defeat Deliora myself the whole thing would have never happened. He said that I killed Ur sensei." Gray said as a couple tears escaped his eyes and rolled down the sides of his face.

Sasuke saw the tears and took the edge of the blanket and wiped them away and pulled Gray into the blanket and hugged him in attempt to make him forget that they ever talked about it.

More tears rolled down Gray's face and he felt Sasuke's arms around him; they were a lot smaller than his, but only because he's only fifteen. He also felt how Sasuke's abs slightly pressed into his side so that he could keep him under the blanket, and in the embrace. He soon accepted the embrace and hugged Sasuke back; still under the blanket.

Sasuke glanced over at his clock:

"_It's 12:34. How long have we been sitting here?"_

Gray never wanted to let Sasuke out of his grasp, and he wanted to stay the way they were and never move. He felt Sasuke move his head to the underside of his head; he was slightly shivering _again_:

"_Why is he still cold? He has the blanket, AND he has ME...even though I'm not help with my STUPID tears!"_ He thought as he held Sasuke closer to his chest; closing his eyes and feeling like he was just about ready to pass out.

Sasuke felt like he was going to pass out just as much as Gray did, and knew that they should go to sleep or they were just going to pass out instead. He yawned:

"We should get some rest. It's kinda late or in this case early."

Gray looked over at the clock:

"Yeah. It's 12:38 in the morning." He replied after a big yawn.

They let go of each other and changed into something to wear to bed (Sasuke put on his sweats that Kakashi had let him borrow when he was training with him, and Gray just went to sleep in his boxers).

When they lied down (seen as how Gray didn't have an actual place to sleep yet) Gray pulled Sasuke closer to his chest in attempt to keep him warm:

"Why you're so cold I'll never know."

Sasuke smiled against Gray's chest:

"I'll never know either ya know."

"I thought you'd say that."

"Why?"

"You just seem like that guy who'd say somethin' like that."

"Of coarse I am."

Gray chuckled a little and sighed:

"Just shut your eyes and go to sleep."

"Ditto." Sasuke said smiling.

The two fell asleep; Sasuke lying on Gray's chest; Gray was holding Sasuke close (still) in attempt to keep him warm through the night (even though they were covered up under two heavy-ish blankets.

Sasuke woke at 3:23 in the morning somewhat sweaty, and waking Gray up.

Gray put his other arm on the gennin's back to hold him close and whispered into his ear:

"What's wrong?"

"I had a nightmare about what my brother had done to my entire clan."

"What did he do...if ya don't mind me askin'?"

"He slaughtered everyone in my clan on this night a couple years ago."

"What did he say to you? Or did he not say anythin' and just leave?"

"When I asked him why he hadn't killed me, but he had killed everyone else he said that I wasn't even worth killin'. After that he left the village and never returned."

"That still haunts ya?"

Sasuke nodded; not trusting his voice in fear of it cracking seen as how talking about this subject usually made him want to just break down in tears.

Gray saw that Sasuke looked like he was about to cry even though he didn't want to and instinctively hugged him tight.

Tears started to roll down Sasuke's face after Gray hugged him, and just let what was building up inside of him because of the explanation of what his brother did.

"It's okay Sasuke. Your brother's not here. Nothin's gonna happen to ya while I'm around. I promise." Gray said trying to sooth Sasuke, and possibly try to calm him down. He remembered how this happened with him and Lucy, but it was a different situation; with him and Lucy it was a funeral, and with him and Sasuke it was a terrorizing flashback that makes him wake up in the middle of the night on the same night every year.

After about seven minutes Sasuke had calmed down and was pretty much ready to go back to sleep when the two heard a horrifying shriek from outside. Both of their head perked up, and they got out of bed to look out the window.

Gray's face looked like the meaning of worry:

"_What happened? Where did that come from? Who was it?"_

Sasuke was worried as well; frantically looking around the area to find where the shriek came from:

"_That was Sakura, but where is she? She's not at her house! Wait?! That came from over near the Forest of Quiet Movement! Why is she there though?"_ Sasuke thought before getting Gray's attention:

"Hey!"

Gray turned his head:

"What?"

"It came from that direction. We should go see what it was."

"Okay then c'mon." He said lightly slapping Sasuke's chest.

They got their pants on (they had either changed or taken them off) and ran down the hallway to the front door. They put their shoes on and ran outside in the direction of the Forest of Quiet Movement (forgetting to put their shirts on; well Sasuke forgot). They saw that the forest was a lot darker than usual; making both of the boys put their guard up; Gray prepping an ice spell and Sasuke thinking of any type of jutsu to use.

"I can't see." Gray whispered.

"Gimmie a sec." Sasuke said before igniting chudori on his hand:

"Stay close."

"Got it."

They arrived at the opening to the Forest of Quiet Movement. Sasuke put his chudori away so that he wouldn't give their position away:

"Aright let's keep moving." Sasuke whispered.

Gray nodded:

"Right."

They quietly snuck behind a couple trees.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder and passed the tree to see Sakura and Lyon against ten other sound ninja. He turned back to Gray:

"This is my fight right now, but if it looks like I need help after a little while then you can jump in and fight with me, but until then-" Sasuke whispered before Gray cut him off:

"Stay here I know the drill." Gray whispered back finishing Sasuke's sentence.

Sasuke nodded and ran out from behind the tree and stood in front of Lyon and Sakura:

"Get outa here! I'll hold 'em off!"

Sakura nodded and ran home; Lyon followed her.

Sasuke turned his attention to the sound ninja:

"Why are you guys here? What do you want?"

"We're here for the prince, and that's you!"

"What are you loons talkin' about? I'm not a prince! Ya got the wrong guy!"

"Isn't THIS you?" The leader of the group asked holding up Sasuke's pictured.

Gray was in shock.

"Y-yeah that me, but how come I didn't know about this?"

"Heh; of coarse you wouldn't know because it's always kept a secret until the rightful day by the leader of the village or people like us."

"If you're so intent on capturin' ME then you're gonna die tryin'!" Sasuke said before a blazing fire shot from his mouth; killing four of the ten ninja.

Gray saw the fire's glow and thought for a moment that it was Natsu, but when he looked it was Sasuke's Dragon Flame Jutsu - a very powerful jutsu that takes a lot of chakra to perform.

"_Whoa! That was an amazing move! It must take a whole lot of energy to do somethin' like THAT!"_ Gray thought as he studied Sasuke movements and techniques.

Within minutes of the battle even beginning it was over; Sasuke stood in front of the defeated fleet of sound ninja; making sure that they were all dead.

Gray walked over to the defeated fleet and froze them just in case they weren't entirely dead.

"I thought for a second that you were a friend of mine when I saw the glow of the fire technique that you performed. What was it called anyway?"

"It's called the Dragon Flame Jutsu. It takes quite a bit of chakra to use it, and is very dangerous to the target or in some cases the user if the user doesn't know how to control the flames within. It's pretty affective when in battle and you're out numbered though."

"Cool."

"Yeah and pretty effective if you use it right."

Gray chuckled:

"What do ya mean?"

"I mean if it's used to just light something as simple as a small fire then it might just cause damage to everything else around it as well."

"In other words?"

"In other word; just use it for attacking large numbers or a strong opponent."

In no time Sasuke had forgotten why he had woken up in the first place:

"I'm sorry for waking up."

"Ah it's cool; no big deal. Try not to do it again though." Gray said with a warm smile.

"Right." Sasuke said sheepishly smiling and scratching the back of his head.

"Go back to sleep." Gray said as he wrapped his arms around Sasuke and pulled him down onto his chest; making Sasuke's face turn a little red, but Gray didn't seem to take notice.

Sasuke smiled; a real smile:

"Okay."

After Gray felt Sasuke's breathing was at a steady pace he felt it was safe to say he could go to sleep as well and slowly drifted off to sleep to Sasuke's steady breathing.

The next morning came with sun beaming through the window; just hitting the top of Gray's messy-haired head.

Sasuke's eyes fluttered open to see Gray still sleeping and decided not to wake him so he stayed until Gray woke up (not be rude ya know). He glanced at the clock:

"_9:00 AM already? Wow."_

Gray woke up (not even opening his eyes) and instinctively ran his hands through his messy hair (still lying down).

"Good morning sleepy head." Sasuke whispered.

Gray smiled and his eyes lazily opened to see a still-sleepy Sasuke lying on his chest; a warm and sleepy smile on his lips:

"_Wow. For someone who just woke up; he looks pretty cute, but why do I have this weird feeling to kiss him? It feels too weird for my liking, and for some reason he looks like he feels the same right now."_

"_What is with this strange feeling? It feels so...so...weird, and it's something inside of me that is making me feel like this."_ Sasuke thought before being torn from them by someone knocking on the door.

"What the?" Gray said as his attention was dragged away from Sasuke and down the hall to the front door:

"Who could that be?"

Sasuke got off of Gray and walked down the hall with Gray following soon after he had put on his cargos. He opened the door just as Gray got to his side; only to see a strange old woman, and cleared his throat:

"Can I help you ma'am?"

The old woman's attention was all on the young gennin in the doorway:

"May I come in for a moment please?"

Sasuke looked to Gray for some sort of approval; seeing that Gray was nodding his head he gladly let the old woman in.

"What brings you here?" Sasuke asked politely.

"I come with a small gift for the prince." She said reaching into a small bag that she had carried with her.

Gray perched his head on Sasuke's shoulder from behind to see what this 'gift' was.

The old woman took out a box; a box big enough to fit in a bag that was normal sized like any average back for a traveler:

"This is for you."

Sasuke looked at the box and took it from the old woman's hands:

"Who is it from?"

"Oh I'm sorry prince, but this person said that they would like to remain anonymous to you."

"Oh okay." The gennin said waiting for her to say anything else.

"You may open it if you'd like; or you could wait till later. All the sender asked was that you opened the package the day that you received it."

Sasuke nodded; he didn't exactly trust his words at the moment.

Gray looked at the old woman; searching for anything that looked suspicious to the eyes, but found nothing; she was just a simple elderly woman.

"_Hm. I don't know about this 'gift' thing, and what's with the whole anonymous thing? That's very strange, and very unlikely that someone would say they wanted to remain that way if they were sending a gift to someone of royal blood. Something doesn't feel right with this box."_ Gray thought as he observed the box in Sasuke's hands.

The old woman stood:

"I should be going; the sender wanted me to return to him and let him know that I delivered the package. Shall I send him your thanks prince?"

"Huh? Oh yes, of course."

"Very well. I will be taking my leave now. Good day prince."

"Wait!"

"Yes?"

"I didn't catch your name."

"Oh there's not need for that seen as how this may be the last time we speak. Good day."

"You too."

Gray watched the lady leave, and began to analyze what she had said:

"'_This may be the last time we speak'...could that mean that whatever is in the box will kill Sasuke or that box is the last thing she had to deliver before she retired? This is all very suspicious to me, and pretty strange at that."_ Gray thought as Sasuke shut the door; snapping him back into reality.

"What were ya thinking about?"

"I don't know if you should open that box."

"What do ya mean Gray?"

"I mean isn't it weird that a strange old woman shows up with a box specifically addressed to YOU?"

"Yeah but..."

"And the fact that the sender wanted to remain anonymous; even if he was delivering a gift to someone of royal blood; the only person of royal blood in their entire FAMILY? What about THAT?"

"Yeah, but Gray-" Sasuke tried to say before Gray cut him off again.

"And lastly; what about the fact that she said that today would be the last day you two spoke; which by the way could mean two things; one, it could meant that whatever is in that box could KILL you; or two, that she was retiring today and that was the last package she had to deliver, but YOU DON'T KNOW?!"

"Gray!"

"What?"

"Calm down." Sasuke said calmly.

Gray took a deep breath and let it all out and sighed:

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"It's cool. I kinda wanna see what's inside the box though. I know and heard what you were goin' on about, but I'm a little curious as to why the person wanted to remain anonymous to something like this."

"Okay fine you can open it, but be careful please."

"I know Gray, I know."

Sasuke sat down at a small tea table and placed the box in front of him. He took out a kunai and placed it under one of the edges. He took a deep breath and let it out:

"Okay. Here goes nothin'." He said taking caution before opening the box.

Once the box was open an envelope fell out along with a couple of kunai knives and shuriken, and another smaller box.

Sasuke picked up the envelope and opened it carefully:

"Hey it's a letter!"

"Read what it says!"

Sasuke cleared his throat to speak:

"Dear Uchiha prince,

I am pleased to present you with these finely crafted-platinum-infused kunai knives and shuriken as a gift for further usage on you missions. We would also like to gift to you a crown jewel of the ancient Uchiha Royal Family. Please take responsible care of these fine items and be ever prosperous.

P.S. There will be a small price to pay for the jewel and might be very 'costly'.

Sincerely,

Anonymous"

Gray was staring at Sasuke onyx orbs the whole time and barely paid any attention to the letter; except for the last part; that's the part he could get out of his head:

"_There will be a price to pay that might be very 'costly'?! What's THAT supposed to mean? This doesn't sound good for Sasuke. I'd better be on my guard when I'm around him or 'else'!"_ Gray thought as he looked into Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke kept re-reading the last part of the letter trying to figure out what it meant when Gray had already figured it out at the first second he heard it. He decided to open the smaller box to see an Uchiha clan symbol necklace - a gold chain and everything; the white (or the bottom of the fan) was a diamond, and the red (or the top of the fan) was a ruby; both cut in the right shapes for the Uchiha clan symbol.

Gray looked at it and put a hand out:

"Le'me see it."

Sasuke handed the necklace to Gray:

"Here."

Gray opened the clasp and put it around Sasuke's neck:

"There. A perfect fit." He said as he adjusted it around the gennin's neck so everyone could see it.

Sasuke smiled and looked down at it; his eyes bright with pride and confidence; which Gray could plainly see:

"_His eyes are so bright. It's as if I were to be standing in front of a sun that doesn't burn or a very bright moon; a very bright moon best fits seen as how his eyes look more bluish black; an onyx than a brighter color like the sun."_ Gray thought as he looked at Sasuke as he stood up and put the box in a recycling bin; along with the letter and the envelope it came in. He went into his room and pit the small box on his dresser; shut and out of the way. He came back out of his room and back into the main room where Gray was just staring blankly; still somewhat tired; making him giggle; catching Gray's attention:

"What was that? Was that a giggle?!"

Sasuke nodded.

"What for?"

"I just realized something."

"What?"

"The way you put the necklace around my neck made it look like it was from you and you were putting it on for me; when I could've done it myself; much like a boyfriend would for their girlfriend."

Gray's face turned a little red; which received another giggle from the gennin:

"I-I was being a nice person okay?! What are ya laughing at anyway?"

"Your face looks like a tomato; it's that red." He said snickering at the ice mage; making his face go to an even darker red.

"Why is your face getting so red anyway?"

"I-I don't know."

"You stutter a lot too. I'm guessing that is part of the red face thing?"

Gray just nodded and attempted to hide his face so that Sasuke could see it get any redder.

Sasuke giggled at Gray's shy side:

"_I find how he's acting to be so cute. It's like he doesn't know that I know that he likes me. It's cute."_ Sasuke said before just hugging Gray in attempt to comfort his red-faced friend.

Gray's head shot up when he felt Sasuke's arms; his eyes snapping to two closed eye lids:

"_W-why is he doin' this? Doesn't he know why I'm like this? Not even I know why I'm like this, and that's sayin' somethin'!"_ Gray's thought shouted throughout his head.

Sasuke's arms had wrapped around Gray, and Gray accepted the hug and turned into him and just let Sasuke hold him; red-faced and all.

Gray wanted to say something, but didn't trust his own voice at this point because of all of the mixed feelings going around in his thoughts.

As if Sasuke read Gray's thoughts he had loosened his grip; making Gray cling to his arms; which he thought was odd for someone like him; he leaned down towards Gray's head and kissed the top.

Gray loosened his grip on Sasuke's arms and looked up at him as soon as he felt a slight touch on the top of his head; what felt like a kiss:

"W-what was that?"

Sasuke thought for a moment trying to figure out what to say so that he wouldn't make things awkward for the two of them:

"It was a kiss on the top of the head. Why?"

"I was just askin' 'cause I felt somethin' touch the top of my head."

"Oh okay then.

"But uh Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"C-could ya do that again?"

"Okay." He said before kissing the top of Gray's head again with a slight touch; exactly like before.

Gray smiled and snuggled into Sasuke's lower torso; red could be seen from where Sasuke was looking down at the ice mage.

A warm smile crept onto Sasuke's face as he saw Gray's smile become much warmer.

A thought went to Gray's attention:

"_Wait! Why couldn't I just move now? He obviously likes me back or he wouldn't have done that kiss on the top of my head in the first place! I feel like I should do somethin' too."_

Sasuke looked at Gray with a confused look:

"What're ya thinkin' about."

"I think I'm goin' crazy..."

"What are ya takin' about Gray?" Sasuke asked.

"I feel like I'm goin' crazy." Gary repeated.

"Why do ya feel like you're goin' crazy?"

"I have this odd thought, but I really don't think I should tell ya what it is."

"Tell me anyway." Sasuke said putting his head on top of Gray's.

"For some reason I feel like we have the same feelings for each other, but ya know I don't even know what I'm thinkin anymore."

"What kinda feelings?"

"I was thinkin' that we share the same feelin' of..." Gray stopped and gulped before continuing:

"Love."

Sasuke stayed silent.

"Or maybe I'm wrong..."

Sasuke was still silent.

"Will ya say somethin' so I know if I'm right please?" Gray pleaded.

Sasuke couldn't find anything to say and stayed silent still; making Gray nervous.

"Sasuke please will ya say-" Gray said before Sasuke cut him off by softly kissing Gray; making his face turn a beat red, and it was a _very_ dark red.

Sasuke pulled away to look at Gray.

Gray was speechless.

Sasuke smiled and put his face in Gray's neck and just shut his eyes for a moment; waiting for Gray to say something.

Gray snapped out of his little 'shock' and looked down at Sasuke; seeing nothing but his raven locks and some of his face:

"W-where did that come from?"

Sasuke lifted his head:

"Where did what come from?"

"T-t-the kiss?!"

"It was something in your eyes."

"B-b-but."

Sasuke giggled again:

"I rendered you speechless."

"I-I..."

"Hehe. That's kinda what I thought would happen."

Gray was silent, and all he could think about now was the feeling of Sasuke's lips against his. He leaned toward Sasuke and kissed him back; shocking Sasuke.

"_He's...he's...no way!"_ Sasuke thought; his face becoming just as red as Gray's.

Gray was beginning to not be able to control himself and accidentally licked Sasuke's lower lip, but pulled away before he got carried away:

"S-sorry. I couldn't control myself." He said as he lowered his head.

"_Why did I have to pull away? I could've just kept goin', but I chose to stop and say that I was sorry instead! Why do I have to be so...so...humble...so honest?"_ Gray said scolding himself.

There was a knock at the door; both of the boys' attention turned to the front door down the hallway.

Sasuke stoop up and walked toward the door that lead to the hallway; only to be stopped by Gray as he was pinned to the door:

"W-w-what are you doing?"

"I really didn't wanna stop doin' what I was doin' before. I just wanted to make sure it was okay with you if I accidentally did that."

They heard the knocking again, but Gray didn't loosen his grip on Sasuke's lower arms.

"S-someone's at the door."

"So?"

"I should go see who it is."

"No. I think they can come back later if they need to talk to ya that badly." Gray said with a sly smirk. He slid on knee between Sasuke's legs to keep him from getting loose of his grip; making him gasp a little; the blush was still there and slowly getting darker.

"G-Gray."

"Nope. I think if it's that important that they need to talk to ya they can come back later when it's not so early."

"B-b-but-" Sasuke tried to protest before Gray pressed his lips on Sasuke's.

Gray pulled Sasuke's arms up and held both of them above his head and by his wrists; licking Sasuke's lower lip (like last time, but not stopping this time); making him gasp. He took this opportunity to plug his tongue in the gennin's mouth.

The knocking continued even though there was no sign of Sasuke or Gray ever answering the door until Gray was finished with what he started. He pulled away; a trail of saliva followed; leaving Sasuke breathless and still pinned to the door.

The knocking had stopped and it was quiet for the most part except for the occasional yelling from sales people exclaiming what they were selling.

Gray let Sasuke go after leaving a kiss mark on the underside of his jaw:

"There. Now at least you know that you're mine." He said with a sly smirk.

Sasuke's face was very red, and was rendered absolutely speechless.

Gray put a hand to his forehead and put a non-dangerous ice spell on his hand to cool him down at least a little.

Sasuke was breathing a little heavy, but was still able to manage words:

"T-thanks, Gray."

"No problem and I'm sorry for doing that; I got too carried away and couldn't stop myself. I guess when I think twice things tend to get worse."

"I-it's okay. I won't hold it against you."

"Really?!"

"Yeah; with that kinda reason I figured that I'd give you some slack this time, but if it happens again I won't be a forgiving." He said wiping the corner of his lips

Gray smiled and walked over towards the window to look outside:

"It's so nice out. Is this what it's like all the time here?"

"On days like this yes, but it does rain like everywhere else." Sasuke said as he walked over next to Gray and looked out the window with him; neither of them noticing that their hands had been on top of one another the whole time..

"What's it like when it snows?"

"It's usually never hard snowfall, but its pack able to have a snowball fight."

"Nice. This sounds like my kinda place."

"It's not all fun and games here ya know."

"Yeah I guessed that, but at least it's a little better here than where I come from. You got it good here Sasuke."

Sasuke chuckled a little:

"Not exactly."

"What do ya mean?"

"I'm a ninja, and the life of a ninja is NEVER easy and calm."

"Not unless you make it easy and calm."

"Where are you going with this?"

"I could stay here with you and help out with stuff around the village."

"What?!"

"Yeah. I'm up for it. It'll be different, but I'm positive I'll get by with you around to help me; even though I'm supposed to be helping you, but I will help." Gray said; sounding more confident than ever before stopping for a moment to take in his surroundings once more:

"You just wait and see; I'll stay by your side no matter what and I'll always be there to help you."

Sasuke felt like he was the most important person in the world to Gray from that speech, and wrapped his arms around his shoulders:

"Thank you." He whispered into Gray's ear.

Gray smiled:

"No problem buddy." He said holding onto Sasuke's arms.

Sasuke could feel that neither of them wanted this moment to ever end, and for some reason; he let it stay for longer than it should have:

"_I don't know what it is about Gray that I like, but I feel like there's something I need to tell him, and that 'something' is important."_ Sasuke thought before letting go of Gray.

Gray saw the difference in the mood that Sasuke had shown through his eyes; they had changed from at peace to more of a saddened look; which worried him:

"What's up?"

"I-I need to tell you something, and I really need you to listen."

"Okay what is it?"

"Well you know how I'm a ninja and all that, but there's something about me that you DON'T know about."

"What is it Sasuke. I can see that it's bothering you so just let it go and tell me." Gray said wrapping an arm around is friend.

"It has to do with having something like a monster inside of me."

"What do you mean 'a monster'?"

"I have a creature called the ten-tails white wolf inside of me."

"In other words you're trying to say?"

"I'm a jinchuuriki."

"Oh okay. I thought that there was something really bad, and that I was gonna have to teach someone a lesson or two, but if it's something like that then le'me tell you something."

"What?"

"No matter who or what you are; I'm never going to thing any different of you because you're my friend, and I'm always going to be your friend."

Sasuke smiled:

"I thought you'd be freaked out or something, but it's good to know that. Thanks Gray."

Gray smiled and hugged Sasuke; only to spoil by a knocking at the door _again_.

"Ugh who could it POSSIBLY be this time?" Sasuke and Gray said at the same time.

They walked out of Sasuke's room and to the front door. Sasuke opened the door to see Sakura, Naruto, and Lyon.

"Hey you two; sleep in late much?" Sakura said teasingly to the two boys.

Naruto giggled a little with a goofy smile:

"Yeah guys; why are you two up so late?"

Lyon rolled his eyes:

"Would to two knock it off?"

Sakura looked back at Lyon and then back at Gray and Sasuke:

"R-right sorry, Lyon."

"No, no it's fine Sakura." Gray said giving Lyon a glare:

"She was just playin' around, Lyon."

"Of course she was, Gray." Lyon said returning the glare.

Sasuke stepped in between the two:

"Alright, alright knock it off."

Gray and Lyon turned their heads away from each other:

"He started it." Gray said crossing his arms.

"I did not!" Lyon said pointing a finger at Gray.

"HEY!" Sasuke yelled; making the two stop in shock.

"What did I JUST say?"

Gray's face turned a little red before he spoke:

"S-sorry Sasuke."

"Yeah...s-sorry Sasuke." Lyon said as his face turned a little red as well.

"Now I don't wanna hear anymore fighting from either of you. Got it?"

Gray and Lyon nodded:

"Yeah we got it. It won't happen again, Sasuke." The two said at the same time.

Sasuke crossed his arms:

"Good. Now shake hands."

Gray held his hand out.

Lyon shook hands with Gray; a small smirk on his face.

"_What's his deal? He's just staring at me with a smirk on his face. I don't wanna know and nor will I ever wanna know."_ Gray thought as the two let go.

Sakura turned to Sasuke:

"Wow Sasuke. I never knew you could do that."

"Do what? I barely did anything."

"You were very convincing." Naruto added.

"Oh right. Uh...thanks, Sakura."

Sakura giggled and smiled at Sasuke:

"Sure thing."

"_Maybe Sasuke forgot about the letter. I hope he doesn't totally forget about it or he'd be in huge trouble. Well whatever; I'm still gonna be right by his side the whole entire time."_ Gray thought as he looked at Sasuke's necklace.

"What is it Gray?" Lyon asked as he watched Gray's face fill with concern for Sasuke.

"It's nothing Lyon. Don't worry about me."

Sasuke looked at Gray with worry in his eyes:

"What is it Gray?"

Gray looked at Sasuke:

"Uh...Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you alone?"

"Yeah sure."

Gray and Sasuke walked back inside for a moment to talk:

"Do you remember the letter that cam with that necklace?"

"Yeah. I just don't act paranoid; I act like nothing happened so I don't concern anyone."

"Oh okay. I'm just asking because I thought you'd forgotten."

"No, but thanks for worrying about me Gray." Sasuke said with a warm smile.

"I have to you're my boy, Sasuke."

"'You're boy'? What?"

"Yeah. My boy - the guy that I hang out with and talk to the most, and maybe some other stuff in between, but that's beside the point. You're my friend; I'll protect you and fight beside you no matter what the situation is."

"_No one's ever treated me like this. Not even Naruto or Sakura, or even Kakashi sensei. I have this odd feeling about Gray; something that I've never felt for anyone but Sakura. This is very strange."_ Sasuke thought as he stared into Gray's blue eyes.

"_He's been silent for a while. Maybe I should do something to get him to talk or something. Still...I kinda like looking into his dark onyx eyes. They interest me."_ Gray thought as he looked into Sasuke's onyx orbs; not noticing that he was leaning into Sasuke. He saw that Sasuke was starting to close his eyes, but only slightly:

"_Wait! Is he closing his eyes and going back on his word?! No way! Then what am I doing?"_ He thought as his lips touched Sasuke's.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around Gray's neck, and Gray's arms wrapped around Sasuke's waist; their abs pressing together as Gray pulled Sasuke closer to him, and before either of them knew it they were up against the door.

"They're talking a long time don't you think Naruto? Lyon?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah." Naruto and Lyon said together.

"Do you think we should see what happened?" Sakura asked the two boys.

"We probably should." Lyon said.

Naruto and Sakura nodded.

Gray pulled away; trying not to let Sasuke breath so loudly; letting the gennin go to catch his breath.

Sasuke caught his breath and opened the door to see Sakura, Naruto, and Lyon just about to open the door; only to be startled by the door opening before they could do it themselves:

"What are you guys doing?"

Sasuke stood up straight; a blush creeping onto her face:

"We were making sue nothing bad happened because you guys were taking a while to have private conversation. Is it something we should know about?"

"If it's a private conversation then what do you think Sakura?"

"Right...of course. That was a stupid question; of course it's not something we should know about. Sorry Sasuke."

"It's not a problem. Just don't ask questions that are basically answered in said question."

Sakura nodded:

"R-right."

Gray noticed the Uchiha jewel shining in the light and became mesmerized by the beautiful reflections it cast of from the afternoon sun.

Sasuke stretched a little:

"I'm gonna take a walk. I'll be back later." He said before turning to Gray:

"Did you wanna come?"

Gray was snapped out of the 'trance' he was in by the sound of Sasuke's voice:

"Huh?"

"Did you wanna come?" Sasuke repeated.

"Where're we going?"

"Just for a walk."

"Oh okay. Yeah sure I'll tag along."

The two walked away; leaving Sakura, Naruto, and Lyon standing sort of in front of Sasuke's front door (they eventually left and did something else like showing Lyon around the village).

Gray and Sasuke got to the Forest of Quiet Movement; where Sasuke fought off the enemy ninja, but this was different; Sasuke was with Gray during the day, but it still had an eerie feeling to it for an unknown reason (for the moment).

Sasuke stopped; making Gray's attention turn to him almost instantly:

"What is it Sasuke?"

"Shhh."

Gray stayed silent.

Sasuke got into a fight-ready stance:

"Someone's following us; be on your guard."

"I never lowered it." Gray said getting behind Sasuke; making their backs press together so they could watch each other's blind spots.

There was a slight evil laughter from the trees around them; making Sasuke a little uneasy:

"Hello Prince Sasuke Uchiha. Did you like my little present that I sent to you? You know it took me a very long while to make that for the Uchiha Royal Family." The man said before appearing in the entrance to the opening of the Forest of Quiet Movement.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"I'm not obliged to tell you my name, but as for what I want...well I leave you to find that out for yourself; you and your friend that I'm guessing figured out what my P.S. note actually meant."

"Oh I already knew what it meant the first time I read it, but yeah he did."

The mad disappeared and reappeared in front of Gray:

"And what is the fine gentleman's name hm?"

Gray gulped:

"I'm G-Gray F-Fullbuster."

"Ah the ice mage. How did you end up here with my little Uchiha prince?"

"A portal."

"A portal you say? Hm...I don't remember any portal around these parts. Care to explain Gray?"

"I don't know where it came from or how it even got there, but it was there and I felt through it and so did a friend of mine."

"And who is this 'friend' that came with you?"

"Lyon Bastia."

"Another ice mage! Amazing! Fairy Tail is out of ice mages, and that my boy is certainly a pity."

"Cut the chatter! Tell me what you want me for and be on your way!" Sasuke demanded.

"My, my; aren't we rowdy today Sasuke." The man said walking around to look into Sasuke's enraged onyx orbs; only full of anger and impatience for this man banter.

"Just tell me what I need to pay you, and let us be on our way!" The gennin snarled.

The man sighed:

"You jinchuuriki are no fun are you; always business and nothing but. Am I correct Sasuke?"

Sasuke growled; a low and wolf-like growl that escaped through the gennin's clenched teeth; fangs slowly growing in. A blue aura started to cover Sasuke in cause of the boy's rage; making Gray stumble away in shock:

"_Man. When Sasuke said it was like a monster was inside of him he wasn't lying was he?"_

Claws grew on Sasuke finger nails as his rage escalated and the man intimidated him more and more. Along with the claws; five blue aura-ed tails extended from Sasuke; making the air around him extremely cold and crystal-like; his chakra was starting to become visible to anyone who looked at him; it was very in-plain-sight.

All Gray could do at this point was stand there and watch his friend turn into a raging wolf-like monster, but he wanted to do something to stop this from happening and maybe try to calm Sasuke down; only to have that thought disappear when he saw Sasuke totally murder the man standing in front of him and intimidating him.

Sasuke sighed; his breath making him look like it was cold outside:

"There's your payment. Just and FYI." He said as the blue aura started to disappear, and he started to turn back to normal; the necklace still firmly hanging from the chain around his neck, but it looked as though it had changed with him, and looked like it's colors were tuning back to normal; along with it's shape; during the time that Sasuke had that wolf-like monster aura around him; the fan had taken on a new form - a arctic howling wolf under a full moon; a blood moon; which concerned Gray to a point where he could stand to see Sasuke so enraged. He ran over and wrapped his arms around him:

"Try not do scare me like that okay?"

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that. I never would want you to EVER see me like that again, but sometimes my anger fuels the wolf inside me, and the wolf just slowly breaks free and takes over my actions." Sasuke said before looking down at what he had done:

"Like that. That never would've happened if I- well I guess I can't say that; he was still getting on my nerves so I guess he deserved what he got as payment for the necklace anyway." He looked at Gray:

"You're not freaked out by what I am; are you?"

"Of course I'm not, Sasuke, you have the most of my trust and friendship on your side. I could never be freaked out by you."

Sasuke heard more footsteps and an unfamiliar voice:

"Well, well, well if it isn't Sasuke Uchiha - Konoha's only jinchuuriki prince.

Sasuke's head snapped in the direction of the unfamiliar voice to see another man stepping out from the shadows of the trees. His eyes widened to see a creepy looking man dressed in all black with no headband on, but an orange mask in its place; even thought he was clearly a full-fledged ninja, and what looked to be a jounin if anything.

"What's the matter Uchiha? Are you frightened by my appearance? Did you ACTUALLY think that I wouldn't show up; along with that other ninja you so brutally murdered without mercy?"

Sasuke gulped and attempted to speak:

"W-well I thought...I thought that you'd..."

"You thought I'd what?"

"I-I thought that you died a long time ago..."

Gray could see that Sasuke was showing true fear and tension and decided to step in:

"Okay I don't know WHO you think you are, but you have NO right to talk to Sasuke that way!"

The man chuckled at looked at Gray:

"And who might you be? If you think you're something special just because you're 'friends' with a prince then your absolutely wrong."

"My name is Gray Fullbuster. I am an ice mage of a guild that goes by the name Fairy Tail, but I don't care if Sasuke's a prince; he's my friend and I'll protect him even if it costs me my life."

"My name is Madara Uchiha; a distant relative of Prince Sasuke Uchiha. I am one of the founders of the Hidden Leaf Village. Anything else you'd like to add, Gray? Snything at all before we test you're word?"

"No. I have nothing left to say."

"Well then; I'll strike a deal with you."

"What kinda deal?"

"If you win; Sasuke is left alone; other wise..."

"Otherwise?"

"Otherwise I will be taking him to the Akatsuki to have the ten-tails extracted from him."

"In other words?"

"In other words: he dies, and so will you."

"Deal!"

"Good. How 'bout we start right about...hm...I think NOW!" Madara said before running at Gray; only to be stopped by a Dragon Flame jutsu; followed by an Ice Gassier spell.

"_It worked! I didn't think we could pull that attack off, but I guess I was wrong. Huh. Cool."_ Gray thought as he watched Sasuke perform hand signs for a very big blast from a fire-style jutsu. Gray prepared an ice spell and waited for the ice to melt away:

"_The ice should be melted in three...two...one."_ He thought as the ice melted in front of him and Sasuke.

"Now Sasuke!"

Sasuke used his fire-style jutsu as the direct line for the ice to take affect.

Gray used his ice make spell as the back-up element of the attack as he watched the fire reach Madara; catching the man off guard - a direct hit to a vital spot on his shoulder.

"_Whoa. He's got good aim. This is going better than I expected it to."_ Gray thought as he watched Sasuke's movement as he took the rest of the fight for him-self:

"Sorry Gray. This is now on a personal level."

"I completely understand." Gray said before the blue aura that Sasuke had before returned.

Sasuke charred Madara with a Dragon Flame jutsu, and a new power that he had just learned - the Crystal Squint; crystallizing Madara's blood stream right after being burned almost to the point of death.

Gray was shocked to see that sort of power come from a gennin ninja, but then he soon realized that Sasuke wasn't just any _ordinary_ gennin; he was a jinchuuriki, a prince, and the best in his class; the best in his class for the right reasons.

**The Reasons for this:**

He had been training under his father when he was a child and knew how to perform a fire-style jutsu because of that.

He had been training with his older brother before the Uchiha clan massacre.

Sasuke's sensei is Kakashi Hatake - a jounin how's experienced first-hand what it's like to lose people he cared about, and maybe even more.

Sasuke gets his reserve chakra from the ten-tails if he needs it; which also allows him to perform the Crystal Squint while in tailed-beast form.

Sasuke's known ninjutsu, teijutsu, and genjutsu from blood-line traits and teachings from the past and present mentors.

He developed his level one Sharingan while training with Kakashi, and uses it for last resorts. In other words; he knows when and when not to use his power.

The blue aura receipted after the smoke cleared from the fire-style jutsu Sasuke had performed; leaving a charred and crystallized corps the center of the field.

"_Good riddance. That's one Akatsuki down, and still more to come."_ Sasuke thought as he starred down at Madara's dead body; lifelessly laying on the ground; the fight had gone into the night and it was pretty dark out by now.

Gray ran over as Sasuke fell to his knees to catch him:

"Sasuke! Are you alright?"

Sasuke nodded:

"I think I just used a bit too much chakra in that fight. Thanks for covering for me by the way, Gray."

"No problem."

Sasuke started to gasp for breath, and groan in pain; along with a wolf-like yelp after a couple minutes as the tailed-beast seal like a heart beat; which started to concern Gray:

"_This is getting bad. I should take him home and help him with this, but how?"_ Gray thought as worry and fear filled his eyes; he was worried that Sasuke might not make it, and fearing that he might die before he could help him do _anything_.

"C'mon Sasuke don't let go. I'm gotta get you home and help you. You can sleep after that, okay?" Gray pleaded.

Sasuke's eyes slowly shut.

"NO! Sasuke no! Please...NO!" Gray continued to plead.

The gennin's eyes came to a close.

"No..." Gray quietly sobbed; a couple tears hitting Sasuke's cheek and sliding off; as if to just slink away from all sadness, and fall to the ground. He stopped and looked up when he saw the necklace glowing in a way; like it held the wolf that was inside Sasuke. It started to glow a bright blue; almost like a pure crystal in sunlight.

Sasuke's eyes just then; snapped open, but instead of onyx orbs there were two pure crystal blue orbs in their place; making Gray jump at the slightest, and he could barely say a word:

"S-Sasuke...y-y-your e-eyes; they're a crystal b-blue; they're no longer onyx black."

Sasuke blinked a couple times to clear his vision and saw Gray; smiling, red-eyed (from crying a little), and the sun beating down on the back of his head; making a shadow over their faces. He smiled.

"I thought I lost you."

"What do you mean?" The gennin asked; his voice almost nonexistent.

"I thought you died."

"Oh. Why didn't you just say so?"

"You need to rest your voice; it's almost gone."

"Hehe. As if THAT'S a first."

"I'm gonna take you home now okay?" Gray said standing with Sasuke in his arms.

Sasuke was all beaten up with scratches, bruises, and gashes all over his torso, chest, arm, and face areas; making it very hard for him to actually be comfortable in the ice mage's arms.

Gray passed by Sakura, Naruto, and Lyon; all starring at Sasuke with a shocked expression wondering how Sasuke ended up like he was.

Sakura ran up next to Gray; Naruto and Lyon following her:

"Gray! Is Sasuke alright?"

"He's gonna be just fine. All he needs is some cleaning up and rest, and he'll be back on his feet like nothing happened in no time at all; as long as he doesn't do any training or anything that has to do with using chakra; he needs a little break from that stuff." Gray said as he continued walking.

"Are you sure about that Gray?" Lyon pitched in.

"Yes. I'm positively sure about this. Just leave him to me."

"I'm not so sure we should." The other ice mage protested.

"Then who do you suppose I leave him with hm, Lyon?"

"Leave him with me."

"Ha, ha, ha. Don't make me laugh Lyon; not even in your dreams."

"And why not?"

"You don't even know the first thing about him, and I do. So you tell me: who do you think he's gonna trust more?"

"You..." Lyon admitted in defeat; lowering his head.

"That's right. Now if you'll excuse me; I have to get going." He said as he entered the Uchiha complex. He opened the door, went inside, and shut the door behind himself. He walked down the hallway to Sasuke's room, and lied him down on his bed to grab the first aid kit from the kitchen. He came back to see that Sasuke hadn't moved an inch since he lied him on his bed. He walked over and sat down on the edge of the gennin's bed and he sat up slowly; making sure that he wasn't going to be in pain for the time he had to stay sitting up so that Gray could clean and patch his wounds.

The gennin winced a couple times as Gray wrapped the gashes, cleaned and bandaged the other wounds from his fight with Madara.

Gray finished as he looked up from what he was doing to see that Sasuke still looked very tired. He picked Sasuke up and placed him on his lap; only somewhat allowing him to doze off because he was doing the same:

"_He should be calm and well rested by morning. I just hope that whatever happened to turn his eyes crystal blue doesn't kill 'em while he's sleeping."_ Gray thought as he fully drifted to sleep with Sasuke still in his arms.

Sasuke leaned into Gray's chest in attempt to get comfortable, and once he did he started to fall asleep to the ice mage's steady heart beat.


End file.
